The Chronicle
Latest dispatches
18 results across all types
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Cats ears
A laundry list of recent bottles. Dreaming of White Burgundy . Giaconda Chardonnay 2023 . Pale. 13.5% Emphatic but fine; power with grace. Almond meal, fabric softener and something struck. Compelling. Terrific poise and grip. No half measures or doubt here. A+ The 2016 tasting note. 2019 Dexter Chardonnay . Mornington. A poised and polished example. Confident, tanned, but perhaps too conformist. Ripe. Flinty and essence like. Globular texture. Bindi Quartz Chardonnay 2021 . A very sharp wine. Maybe the best Bindi I’ve had in recent (5 years) time. It must be near its peak. . . Juicy, bright, cordite and flint, stone fruit. Super tight, lean, long. Sadly my last bottle. . . Before . A+ Houghton EV 37 Old Vine Chenin blanc 2023 . With my blind tasting blinkers on, I feel no shame in calling this a Chardonnay. Whole bunches, wild yeast, old barrel fermentation, battonage. . . An excellent nod and wink to Jack Mann and his 1937 creation - the Houghton
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Connective tissue
Senate bean soup. Being an antipodean, I had no idea such a soup existed, though the idea of pork and beans has frequently punctuated my life. After reading the recipe and the story behind it, in the NY Times, I felt a call to action. The whisper of several powerful forces. . . Winter, pork, memory, simplicity. . . I used my mum’s old slow cooker. An old Tiger brand thermal cooker from the 1990’s. A pot within an insulated pot. . . I used the inner chamber to heat and cook all the ingredients (400g dried navy beans, 3 carrots, 2 potatoes, 2 ham hocks, a onion, five garlic, half a tablespoon of paprika, a large pinch thyme, pepper, salt, a knob of butter and 2L of water) and then left it overnight. After an 8 hour sleep the soup was still steaming and 65 degrees C. At this point mash the potatoes and a small portion of beans, stir into the soup; break up the pork meat and remove the bones and skin. The soup will gleam with goodness and connective collagen. . . As
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A lamb curry with Shanxi pulled noodles
The morning after picture. . . A curry with a Chinese accent. . . As I get old and grey I keep returning to people and food memories from long ago. Of late, my mum’s lamb curry with its thin sauce, spiked with Madras curry powder. Mild, comforting and much missed. She only used 9 ingredients (including two spice blends - Garam Marsala and Madras) and gave minimal instructions I was leafing through Jon Kung’s book - Kung Food - recipes from a third-culture Chinese kitchen. There’s a recipe for goat curry and lo mein. He lists over 30 ingredients (if you include the ones he repeats). . . After making an abridged (cutting 12 ingredients, much of suggesting prep time and several steps) and adulterated (adding 2 and using Shanxi noodles instead) version, I’m still struck by how much this reminds me of the lamb curry of my childhood. It’s mostly the turmeric and coriander I think, plus the mildness and the slight graininess of the sauce from the spice. The Shanxi noodles are a pl
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May 2026
A trio of obsessions to help me pass the time. . . Food . I’ve been mildly obsessed with home made pork buns. . . The recipe can be found here . The pictured image is attempt 2 of 3, and they were structurally deficient (dough was sloppy and over moist) with several falling apart when cooked. Still they are rewarding and evoke enough memory and joy for me to persist with my clumsy efforts. Words . Even clumsier, is my notebook (in the background) full of poorly composed Chinese characters. I still can’t get my stroke order correct, but as poor as my writing is, it is far more intelligible than my attempts to speak. . . I’ve been using the online resources to sleuth the origin and explanation behind each character. So many Easter eggs. . . It reminds me of my primary school self thumbing through a mini Oxford dictionary, trying to memorise insulting or unusual words. . . Wine. A pair of wine list bottles. Lyons Will Estate Pinot noir 2023 . Ma
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Singapore
A fallen cannonball anemone, a single petal remaining, but heavy with scent and memory. On my infrequent visits to Singapore, I always make a beeline to the Botanic gardens, with its photogenic dragonflies and this curious tree. Faced with the traveller's dilemma. What to see and do? What to drink and taste when there is so little time. . . Should you narrow or widen the aperture? Deep but limited, or shallow and cursory? Around and around in circles . . . Sleeping close to the Singapore river, every morning a slow pre sunrise run along the waters edge. Each day I’d trace the same path, the only variance my starting direction. . . I was surprised by the number of chickens strutting around unencumbered. I discovered retrospectively that they were the prototypal wild jungle fowl, unintentionally reintroduced, slimmed down, muscular and with beautiful tail feathers. First the food arrives and then the hunger . . . I ate as much buah keluak as I possible. One
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Qi
I’ve been practicing Hanzi , timidly, trying to memorise all those odd looking squiggles and lines, consistently messing up the stroke order and direction. It is curiously satisfying. Trying to understand what each character represents and how it has changed over time. Each character pregnant with meta data. Today I learnt the character for Qi. 气. On 3000 year old oracle bones it is represented by three horizontal lines, representing the three treasures. Essence, energy and body and mind. Three lines to capture the intangible. . . You could characterise a wine in these terms. . . Essence being what is imparted by the terroir and season and the hand of the maker. Qi is more about what is in the glass, is the wine alive, is there a spark of energy or is it fading and quiet? Qi is often equated to the life force, or vitality, or breath. It’s an elusive concept for the Western mind, which thinks of energy in terms of mitochondria and sleep, glucose and caffeine, swi
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December notes
A trio of Chardonnay to open. 2017 Flame Tree SRS Chardonnay . Mature and golden. Pineapple crunch, medium, starting to unknot. 2020 Vasse Felix Heytsbury . Tighter and more complex. Longer and quieter (and colder) initially. Essence like. Restraint and serious poise. Excellent . 2018 Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay . 13.5%. Viscous and thick, essence like and powerful. Showy and bold. The nose is expressive, all peach and blossom. Even on day two it’s pretty and still well shaped. By a small fraction, I preferred the Heytsbury. A Pinot. Oakridge Aqueduct Block Henk Vineyard Pinot noir 2023. Yarra Valley . Medium red, bright and primary. Cherry and spice, relatively simple and direct, heavy. My rusty palate incorrectly called this a Tasmanian. For the bird fanciers. Chateau Lafite Rothschild 2009 . 13.5%. Pauillac. A suitcase wine, and the fanciest red bottle of the season. Tasted blind the early money consensus call proved mostly correct
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November 2025
Bindi Quartz 2024 . Peaches and sunshine. Marzipan and almond meal, pollen and a thread of cordite. Clean and pulsing with energy. Fleshy and bold in the mouth; generous, with baking spices and warmth . V. Good, and yet I hesitate to post a tasting note. . . the longer the gaps, the more my self doubt. . . I open a second and then a third bottle to triple check. . . and I come to a similar conclusion each time, it’s an excellent Chardonnay, and yet my words seem incomplete. The oak treatment is subtle - lending a background richness and understated polish; the acids wonderful; lots of layers and finesse; restraint and beauty. In between the three Bindi I sample a few glasses of 2016 Cullen ‘Kevin John’ Chardonnay . It’s much more mature (obviously), golden and nutty, laden with figs and spice. Rounded and cuddly, the tension replaced with softness. Good - Very. A further counterpoint is the 2018 Frankland Isolation Ridge Riesling . Sharp and bright, but starting to t
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Reed ‘Lessons’ Semillon 2023
A half time image of my Coq au semillion. . . I keep returning to old recipes and making adjustments based on necessity (what’s in the fridge / pantry) and experience. In this case, semillion instead riesling; a teaspoon of sambal belacan for a homeopathic hint of heat; a handful of dried (and rehydrated) chanterelles in addition to a small bag of fresh button mushrooms; and much more homemade tomato paste for depth and warmth (a 400g tin of diced tomatoes, simmered with 4 cloves of garlic for 15 minutes before blending). I used the finished stew as a base for a rich chicken noodle soup. I’ve developed an obsession with Shanxi pulled noodles (the store bought ones by Havista, I have no inclination to make my own). They are impressive - 3cm wide and extra long, like a super chewy pappardelle. Reed ‘Lessons’ Semillon 2023 . Spring Creek, Torquay, Victoria. 12%. An ectopic, but very interesting semillon. Barrel fermented in a blend of old and new oak. It’s pale, but with more
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Lo Hon Chai
I’ve been doing a lot of reading and thinking, interspersed with conversations with Chat GPT. What else would you call it. . . I ask questions, the AI responds, I ask follow up questions, it’s a deeper and more intimate dialogue than I would have with most people. It’s tangential and at times scatalogical. I ask about Lo Hon Chai, Buddha’s delight, and it makes suggestions. It’s a Lunar new year dish, signifying purity or cleansing, designed to nourish without inflaming desires. . . I look at the ingredients and wonder about the flavours, it seems very bland - but it works - there’s a poise and gentle balance . . . Lo Hon means Arhat, an adept who has obtained Nirvana. . . I always thought the original number was 4, but the Chinese inflated it to 10, then 16 and finally 18. . . . A pair of recent books both containing the word Golden in their title. The Golden Road - by William Dalrymple and The Golden Wok - by Diana Chan. From the first I learn about the Indosphere and how
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A Wet January
A solid month of drinking followed by the sketchy post mortem of the best bottles. I’ve relied on my hand written notes, which grow shorter and messier each year. Chardonnay . From fat to thin. . . Martinborough Vineyard Home Block Chardonnay 2017 . 1/3 to 1/2 butterball. Similar in old school emphasis is the Sianpius Tamar Valley 2015 . Another partial butterball, but also a passing and unexpected hint of celery. Forest Hill Block 8 Chardonnay 2016 . Cream, not butter, lovely almond meal texture. Minimal smoulder. Joan Chardonnay 2021 . Bottle pictured above. Adelaide Hills. A mix of 2 clones (one fat - I10V1 and one fit - 96). Peach and flesh, a balance of tightness and generosity. Nectar like. Yabby Lake Chardonnay 2017 . A good nose, stone fruit and almond meal. The most notable thing is the palate profile. A juxtaposition of cream and stone fruit acids. Finally - the Tyrrell’s Vat 47 2022 . Lean and spare, flint and struck match nose. A very tight but fruit
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December bottles
Dhillon Riesling 2024. A Bindi wine using non estate Macedon fruit from the Glenhope vineyard. The back label mentions - interesting grapes from interesting vineyards for, hopefully, interesting people. . . Wild yeast, old barrels, time of lees. A quieter than expected nose, pear as much as citrus, green bean. Different from the usual Oz Riesling - as well as the feel of pebbles and the taste of apricots - there’s more flesh and creaminess in the mouth . The Clare Valley 2021 Jim Barry ‘The Florita’ is much more typical - bath salts, a puff of lime; bone dry, phenolic ++, a slightly salty edge . Kumeu River Mate’s Vineyard Chardonnay 2022. 13%. Quite above and apart from most. A complex and compelling nose - pear and citrus, white florals, a hint of spice (ginger and soft oak), subtle layers. . . Rich and refined and long in the mouth - it’s tight, intense, pulsing with phenolic grip and citrus pith. . . I wrote - cf orange wine, but clean. . . Which is to say - the t
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On vinegar
Almost 20 years of tinkering with my home based vinegar solera. . . The oldest bottle - 4th from the left - the green glassed Stella Bella, has taken a turn, and gone from being sharp and clean to rusty and dull. . . Not bad given it was originally inoculated in January 2005. I spent a few hours sorting through my bottles - decanting some for the pantry, adding left over natural wine where needed and disposing of the dud and tainted batches. I ended up disposing about 20 bottles (a half of my solera). . . The biggest cull I can recall. . . The happy vinegar bottles (average age 10 years) had clear, orange tinted contents, there was almost no need to smell and taste the liquid to confirm their health. In contrast - the tainted bottles, or the ones which never got started remained deeper in colour or cloudy in some cases. A spectrum of nutty and munted, all the way to fetid. Learnings : 1. Red wine vinegars are much easier to make. 2. Start with a natural wine wit
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Tasting notes
A fortnight of travel related wine consumption. . . I’ve been like this cliff top echidna, enjoying the sights while using my nose to look for treasure. . . Riesling. Light and bright. Parish Vineyard Riesling 2023 (Coal River, Tasmania) - v. sharp wine, with a slightly unexpected fruit profile - tangarine and pink grapefruit in the mouth. Grippy and rewarding. The Kühling-Gillot Qvinterra Troken 2023 (Mosel) also excellent. Tight and sappy, all the usual suspects - slate and mineral in the mouth, a terpene nose, hardness with a trace of sweetness in the mouth . A pair of complex (and costly) chardonnay. As much as I love Chardonnay, budgetary constraints and poor access, have lead to a years (5) long hiatus between sips of Giaconda. Still - the Giaconda Chardonnay 2016 feels like an old friend. Familiar, idiosyncratic, seemingly unchanged. Terrific nose - smouldering and complex, at times a hint of toffee. Amazing acid structure and text
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Recent meals
A fortnight of wonderful food (and wine) in Melbourne and along the Great Ocean Road. First up, a very old school Cantonese meal at Flower Drum . It's like a time capsule, suited middle aged waiters hover attentively, they remind me of long forgotten uncles. . . We open proceedings with a bowl of egg crusted deep fried fish skins and for a moment I feel like a child again, sitting in a noisy dai pai dong slurping fat rice noodles and fish cakes washed down with a tiny bottle of Kowloon dairy milk. Embla was a trip favourite. The room has a terrific vibe, and after the formality of Flower Drum it was a delight to have unobtrusive wait staff. The food was comforting and delicious. Every plate a winner - the guilty bites of pressed chicken skin crisps with whipped anchovy and chicory; the soft creamy fried polenta cubes; the succulent poussin with its amazing guanciale and sage flavoured sauce that demands a side order of the thickly sliced house bread to mop up the juices. Rated -
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Pasta with broccoli
An almost forgotten family favourite. . . Though I have more time, I have less inclination to make my own orechiette , fortunately my local grocer has gone overboard by stocking four different examples. I picked the bronze extruded octagonal ears by Giuseppe (supposedly of the Dolomites). I started with the breadcrumbs - half a loaf of sour dough, remove the thickest parts of the crust, break into crumbs (thermomix or similar device) drizzle with olive oil, season and toss in 4-5 peeled and crushed garlic cloves. Bake at 180 degrees C - turning and tossing so the crumbs get an even tan. Takes about 15-20 minutes. Once done - remove the garlic and set aside and cover once cool. Concurrently - break up 1 medium head of broccoli . I prefer small 5-10mm fragments. Fiddly - but better aesthetically. Dice the stem and use that too. Set aside. Make a parsley pesto - the gives the dish the luminous green tint and connects all the elements. Handful of parley; 1 garlic cl
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Shiraz, mostly
Penfolds Koonunga Hill Seventy Six Cabernet Shiraz 2006 . Opens hard and abrasive, but softens in time. Spiced Christmas pudding and shellac. Stylistically true to the house. I think this was the first release of the Seventy Six. I've written about it before . . . Then as now - I wonder - How finely/cynically can you segment the market when you ultimately offer only one sort of (red) wine - something dense, full, warm and old fashioned. . . SC Pannell Adelaide Hills Syrah 2012 . The 2013 edition went on to win the Jimmy Watson. This would be a tricky wine in a 100% blinded line up. It has a DMS / über black currant nose; thankfully I spotted the Burgundy bottle, bringing my formulation back to cool climate Shiraz. . . Full and plump, cherry ripe, with lovely fine inky tannins. Wolf Blass Black Label 2002. Shiraz, Cabernet and Malbec. Barossa and Langhorne Creek. From my cellar. Cork (50% stained). A whiff of glue and v/a to start, but then it's all lush oak (there's F
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Chateau Langoa Barton 2001
Is this the vinous equivalent of that old, comfortable, slightly moth eaten woollen cardigan at the back of your closet? An evocative nose - but odd (compared to what I’ve been drinking recently, which is not claret) - camphor and leather to open, a curious fusty perfume, it's only later that I find any fruit - more plum than black currant. Very savoury, long and fine tannins, leafy, mature, dense, meaty and inky. Quite suave. Riddled with brettanomyces, but likeable. On blind tasting - I've been reading Andy Clark's book - 'The Experience Machine' , it's about the idea that our brains operate as predictive machines. Our expectations (coloured by our conditioning) determine how we interpret sensory signals. . . For instance - I sniff at a blinded white wine - a hint of grass and green, it's very sharp in the mouth, medium bodied. . . I think, automatically and lazily - semillon. . . which makes me cautiously reflect every time I think semillon it ends up being a riesl